Top Nine Sayings that only make sense to baseball fans

CAN OF CORN

Baseball term for a lazy and very catchable fly ball. The origination of the term isn't 100% certain, but one thing that is? Corn is much better on the cob.

HOT CORNER

"Hot corner" describes third base because of how often line drives are hit in its direction. As far as we know, it has nothing to do with the temperature or physical attractiveness of the actual base.

GOLDEN SOMBRERO

Used when a player strikes out four times. The term was supposed to conjure the image of a bigger hat than a "hat trick" would. So naturally, we thought of a sombrero. And you know what? Why not make it gold?

BANG-BANG PLAY

This classic baseball term is used for extremely close calls on the basepaths. "Bang Bang" is also the title of a popular Nancy Sinatra song, as well as a Mick Foley catchphrase … but we digress.

IN THE HOLE

Groundskeepers have been trying for years, but regardless of how hard they effort, they simply cannot find a way to get rid of that hole between the first and second basemen, which, coincidentally, is the same location base hits land when they go "in the hole."

MENDOZA LINE

Named after former MLB shortstop Mario Mendoza, the Mendoza line refers to hitting above or below .200 in terms of batting average. It can't be the best thing to be named after…but hey, all PR is good PR, right Mario?

RUBBER GAME

Phrase used to describe the third game in a three-game series in which the first two games have been split by both teams. We have no clue where the phrase came from, so we asked LeBron James (for some reason) if he knew. He's thinking about it.

PAINTING THE BLACK

"Painting the black" is how Tom Glavine made his living. Essentially, it means he lived on the inside and outside corners and avoided the middle of the plate. Contrary to popular belief, "painting the black" is not what an umpire does between innings.

BRONX CHEER

A sarcastic cheer at a home team player. For example, when a pitcher walks two straight hitters and finally throws a strike, he will receive a Bronx cheer. It's more likely to happen in the Northeast than the Midwest.